The disclosure of the following priority application is herein incorporated by reference: Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-106798 filed Apr. 5, 2001.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a confocal microscope system which comprises a confocal microscope, a controller, and a host computer.
2. Related Background Art
A first prior art will be described.
FIG. 3 is a view for showing a system configuration according to the prior art.
Referring to FIG. 3, a confocal microscope system 50 is substantially comprised of a confocal microscope 11, a controller 51, and a host computer 61.
Inside this controller 51, there is provided a scan control board 52. This scan control board 52 outputs a scan signal to the confocal microscope 11. The confocal microscope 11 moves an observation point on a sample for scanning in accordance with this scan signal so that image signals are successively generated. Note that in the present specification, the xe2x80x9cboardxe2x80x9d is not limited to a single printed circuit board, but is used to include a device, a unit, and other means.
On the other hand, from the scan control board 52, a sync. signal (a horizontal sync. signal, a vertical sync. signal, or a pixel clock) is outputted in synchronism with the scan signal.
In addition, an image capture board 63 is mounted on a PCI (peripheral component interconnect) bus 62 inside the host computer 61.
This image capture board 63 receives an image signal from the confocal microscope 11, and a sync. signal from the scan control board 52.
The image capture board 63 A/D converts the image signal in synchronism with this sync. signal to generate image data. The image capture board 63 successively transfers the generated image data to a memory 65 in the host computer 61 through the PCI bus 62.
A CPU 64 inside the host computer 61 conducts image processing or image analysis for the image data in the memory 65.
The CPU 64 also transfers the image data to a recording apparatus 67 through the PCI bus 62, and thereafter, stores the image data in a file.
Further, the CPU 64 transfers this image data or a result of the image analysis to a video board (not shown) through the PCI bus 62, and displays the image data or the result of the image analysis on a monitor 66.
In addition, the CPU 64 conducts such processings as image processing, image analysis, image display, and image comparison, for the image file inside the recording apparatus 67, simultaneously with an operation for fetching an image from the confocal microscope 11.
A second prior art will be described below.
FIG. 4 is a view for showing the system configuration according to another prior art.
Referring to FIG. 4, a confocal microscope system 70 is substantially comprised of the confocal microscope 11, a controller 71, and a host computer 91. A scan control board 73 and an image capture board 74 are mounted on a bus 72 of this controller 71.
This scan control board 73 outputs a scan signal to the confocal microscope 11. The confocal microscope 11 moves an observation point on the sample for scanning in accordance with the scan signal so that image signals are successively generated. This image signal is given to the image capture board 74. On the other hand, the scan control board 72 gives a sync. signal to the image capture board 74.
The image capture board 74 A/D converts the image signal in synchronism with this sync. signal to generate image data. The image capture board 74 successively transfers the generated image data to a memory 76 in the controller 71 through the bus 72. A CPU 75 inside the controller 71 conducts image processing or image analysis for the image data in the memory 76.
The CPU 75 also transfers this image data to a recording apparatus 80 through the bus 72 and a bus controller 79, and thereafter, stores the image data in a file.
Further, the CPU 75 transfers this image data or a result of the image analysis to a video board 77 through the bus 72, and displays the image data or the result of the image analysis on a monitor 78.
In addition, the CPU 75 conducts such processings as image processing, image analysis, image display, and image comparison, for the image file in the recording apparatus 80, simultaneously with an operation for fetching an image from the confocal microscope 11.
Such various operations of the CPU 75 as described above are controlled from the host computer 91 side through an interface 81, a monitor 92 for GUI (graphical user interface) operation and an input device 93.
Note that, in the confocal microscope device 11 described above, in order to reduce the scanning time, image signals may sometimes be sampled during both the going and returning courses in the main scanning direction. In such a case, a processing for reversing the right and left direction of the returning course is required separately in the step of image capture or image processing.
Also, in the confocal microscope 11 described above, a sample may be scanned by using a plurality of detection light beams at the same time. In such a case, it is required to conduct image capture for each of the detection light beams. Observations in such case include a fluorescent observation for detecting fluorescent lights having a plurality of wavelengths by adding a plurality of fluorescent reagents to a sample.
Incidentally, in the confocal microscope, continuous phototaking of a sample is also conducted. In this case, the conventional image capture board conducts a capture processing of an image signal substantially on real time, and transfers a large amount of generated image data to a memory through a bus. Under these circumstances, the bus is occupied with the large amount of image data. In addition, the CPU suffers complicated control for the image capture processing. On the other hand, the user may sometimes give an instruction to conduct image processing or image display in the course of the capture processing of an image. In this case, the CPU tries to conduct the image processing simultaneously with the image capture. This state allows the image capture to be synchronous with the image processing.
An operation of the CPU is conspicuously disturbed by such occupation of the bus or complication of the CPU. As a result, there arise troubles such that image processing, image analysis, image display, image storage, or the like, for the image data which is temporarily stored in the memory is conspicuously delayed.
Also, when the bus use can not be adjusted on the CPU side and on the image capture board side, a load of the bus becomes excessive instantaneously, so that another trouble such as a failure in image capture (missing of image frame(s)) is also possible.
These troubles arise more conspicuously when, for example, sampling in the returning course and scanning with a plurality of light beams are conducted at the same time or one after another so that the number of image signals to be captured by the image capture board becomes larger.
Hitherto, in order to solve such problems, it is required to use a high-speed CPU or a special and high-performance image capture board. For this reason, the degree of freedom of the system configuration is inevitably low, so that the system configuration can not cover the wide computer environment (including the kind of the computer, a board to be used, and an OS) demanded by users.
The present invention has its first object to provide a confocal microscope system which is capable of smoothly executing operations such as an image processing operation without using a high-speed CPU or a special and high-performance image capture board even in the course of an image capture.
In order to achieve the above first object, according to the present invention, there is provided a confocal microscope system comprising:
a) a confocal microscope;
b) a controller having:
an image capture unit for generating image data on the basis of an image signal of an image acquired by said confocal microscope;
a temporary storage unit for temporarily storing said image data generated by said image capture unit; and
an asynchronous transmission unit for asynchronously transmitting said image data which is temporarily stored in said temporary storage unit; and
c) a host computer having:
an asynchronous reception unit for asynchronously fetching said image data which is stored in said temporary storage unit; and
an image processing unit for processing said image data fetched by said asynchronous reception unit.
A second object of the present invention is to provide a controller which is suitable for controlling a confocal microscope to generate image data of a sample, and to transmit the image data of the sample to the host computer.
In order to achieve the second object, according to the present invention, there is provided a controller for controlling a confocal microscope to generate image data of a sample, and to transmit said image data of said sample to a host computer, comprising:
a scan control unit for controlling said confocal microscope to move an observation point of said confocal microscope to scan said sample;
an image capture unit for fetching an image signal of said light reception unit in synchronism with a scan and move signal from said scan control unit so as to generate said image data of said sample based on a relation between said fetched image signal and said observation point;
a temporary storage unit for temporarily storing said image data which is generated by said image capture unit; and
an asynchronous transmission unit for transmitting said image data temporarily stored in said temporary storage unit in response to an asynchronous transfer request from said host computer.
Still another object, an embodiment, and various advantages of the present invention will be described in a more detailed manner with reference to drawings.